Heatwave
by funnypain
Summary: One-shot story in which, during a terrible heat wave, Naomi and Emily happen to meet by chance in a pub, one as a customer and the other as a waitress.


Naomi lit her third cigarette of the evening and sucked on it deeply but impatiently, as if she needed an even bigger cloud of smoke shooting straight to her lungs. Her other hand was holding an icy pint of beer which she was drinking like medicine. There were other people around her, close to the door of the pub - other smokers, mostly, and those who could not bear the heat inside.

The truth was that being outside made little difference. She shook her head, freeing part of her long hair, which the sweat had begun to stick to the back of her neck. Everyone was either eating ice cream or shooting one another with water pistols, and window shopping during the day just for the air conditioner. The heat wave was all over the news, of course, and City Hall had shut down most of the fountains to prevent people from using them as their personal swimming pools.

Pressing the pint against her forehead, Naomi wondered she would be able to melt the glass. One drink was definitely not enough, and so she pushed the door with her shoulder and re-entered the pub, which smelled and looked like a zoo of humanity. They'd even had to put up signs forbidding people to take off their clothes, like in the ride of an amusement park.

Reaching the bar, she refrained from sitting on a stool and in fact from touching anything.

"What can I get you?" asked the waitress, a short girl who had rolled her hair into a bun on the top of her head.

She ordered and paid quickly, eager to return to the street. However, when she did, she realized that the waitress had exited the pub just behind her.

"Is everything all right?" Naomi asked her.

The girl looked at her with a puzzled frown. "Yeah… My shift's just ended."

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry," she said, hurriedly, having spotted the cigarette pack and the beer between the girl's hands.

"It's okay." The girl shrugged while lighting up, and then offered Naomi the pack. "Want one?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"I haven't seen you around before, have I?"

"I don't think so, no. I just moved here."

"Oh, now I understand," said the waitress, letting out a croaky chuckle. "The bloody heat wave, now I know who's responsible for it."

Naomi glanced at the other girl, not knowing if she had just been complimented or only teased. Or a bit of both. She opened her mouth to say something, but the waitress had shot her hand at her, and she could only shake it.

"I'm Emily."

"Naomi."

"Naomi! That's a good name for a heat wave. You know, like when they name the storms?"

"Yeah, I get it." She smiled politely at the girl, hoping that she would stop blaming her for the heat and forget about it, because it made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She couldn't even thank her for the compliment.

Perhaps aware of Naomi's uneasiness, Emily looked away and started sipping her beer. After some minutes, the girl secured the bottle between her calves and undid her hair, letting it cascade freely over her shoulders. Then, she promptly asked a random passerby to lend her his water pistol.

"Want some?" asked Emily.

"Uh…" Naomi glanced at the owner of the pistol, who was nodding at her, and quite eagerly. "Okay. But listen, this isn't a fucking wet T-shirt contest."

She had said it more for the guy and other potential onlookers, but Emily paused for a moment, frowning, before positioning herself next to Naomi and spraying both their hair and faces with reasonably cold water. Ignoring the resulting whoops and exclamations of how sexy they were, they returned the pistol and stood facing each other, covered in tiny droplets which were already beginning to evaporate.

"Better?"

Naomi nodded, really looking at the girl for the first time. With her little round face, her large brown eyes, and her wet dark hair behind her pierced ears, Emily could very well be the most adorable thing she had ever seen. And how could that smile be so cute and mischievous at the same time? The girl's forwardness had shocked her a bit at first, but what if she pushed away those protective instincts? What if it was as simple as saying "What the hell"?

"Look, Emily, I'm sorry if I've come off a little cold. It's just that I'm new here and I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing at my job, and I've got no friends yet, and everything's a bit shit, you know?"

"Don't worry, I get it, but now at least you know me."

"Yeah…"

"I know what you need," said Emily, resolutely. She set down both of their beers, snatched Naomi's hand, and started leading her away from the pub. "Don't worry, I live just round the corner."

Was that supposed to be a relief? Naomi looked down at their joined hands and felt weird, as well as excited. It was odd to be holding hands with a complete stranger, and she shifted her fingers until she found the perfect position. Emily just held on, very at ease with everything that was going on, and explained that what Naomi needed was some ice cream, and that she had plenty at home.

They arrived to the building in question in no time, mounted a flight of stairs, and entered a small flat which had a slight scent of incense. Only then did Emily let go of Naomi's hand, and went to the simple kitchen area to retrieve a couple of white boxes from the freezer.

"Go on, sit," said Emily, gesturing at a wooden stool in front of the small bar which was the only thing separating the kitchen from the living room.

Smiling, Naomi let the girl wait on her a bit more, while she continued playing the part of the customer. Emily served chocolate and vanilla ice cream in two red bowls, but instead of allowing Naomi to eat her own, she sat on the stool next to hers and started feeding her with a tentative spoon. It had been a very long time since anyone had done that, and Naomi started feeling as silly as a teenager, very much against her will. However, she also felt like playing along, filling up her spoon and swaying it before Emily's lips.

The ice cream was delicious, and it was precisely what she needed, but there was also an increasing level of giggling and teasing going on, in which their spoons were becoming fuller and fuller and their mouths could barely engulf each spoonful. Naomi rushed to grab something to wipe the dripping corners of her mouth, trying not to laugh because that would make a bigger mess, but Emily intercepted her, surrounding her waist with one of her arms, while the other hand lifted Naomi's chin. As the shorter girl hadn't moved from her seat, they were now approximately the same height, so they could look each other in the eye as they began asking and answering the silent question.

They got closer at the same time, their lips coming together effortlessly, and at once Naomi felt the contrast between the coldness of the ice cream and the warmth of Emily's mouth, until there was only heat, inside and outside. She also sensed the pearls of sweat budding out of her skin, making her clothes heavy and unbearable, and even more so because Emily's hands had started to roam around her back.

Naomi brought her hands up to Emily's hair, which was, like hers, damp with sweat, and combed it back.

"Jesus, it's too hot."

"Yeah." Emily slid off her stool. "So, may I offer you a shower, milady?"

A sticky mess, Naomi stepped into the bathroom and started peeling off her clothes. At that moment, it was just too bloody hot for shame or any kind of contemplation. She yearned for the cold water and she yearned for Emily in it as well, with her. So where _was_ Emily?

The girl entered the bathroom a minute later, when Naomi was already in the shower, with the cool water falling all around her like a blessing.

"Sorry, couldn't wait."

Emily just stood there for a moment, staring at her quite hungrily, it was obvious, and Naomi could see, between the curtain of drops of water that were clouding her eyelashes, that the girl had already removed her clothes. She could also see that Emily was holding something that looked like a plastic bucket.

"I couldn't wait to do this with you either," Emily said, stepping inside the shower and rattling the contents of the bucket, which were ice cubes.


End file.
